Jeremy Hooper's Blog, page 3

Whether justified or Kim Davis-ed, individualistic rage rarely outplays broader truths

In his 2011 book The War For Late Night, Bill Carter tells a story that really resonated with me. It's a private conversation between Conan O'Brien and a top NBC executive. The conversation took place after it was clear that Jay Leno was not really leaving his Tonight Show perch in Conan's hands, as had been promised, but during the short window thereafter, when NBC was still offering Conan some sort of a concession prize. This executive, who had worked with Conan for years, was advising his...

Kim Davis: The almost too perfect coda to the marriage discrimination fight

She is portraying herself as a victim even though she is the one denying equal treatment, basic fairness, and dignity to a minority population.

She is arrogant, thumbing her nose at court orders that go all the way up to SCOTUS.

She is almost unbelievably hypocritical, having herself enjoyed four—count 'em—marriages herself.

She is relying fully on her personal faith with complete disregard for church/state separation

She is aligning herself with activist groups that put their agendas fa...

Anti-gay clerks are going to have to do their jobs. Because of course they are.

Declaring that she has "little or no likelihood" to win on appeal, a Sixth Circuit panel has denied a now infamously anti-equality clerk's attempts to sidestep her job whenever a qualified same-sex couple requests she fulfill her paid duties:

A panel of federal appeals judges refused to overrule a judge's injunction against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who continues to refuse marriage licenses for same-sex couples more than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court found a constitutional right...

Jeb really wants to remind voters of his anti-'same status' plan for gay couples

When a candidate releases a book in the middle of a primary, every chapter, word, and comma is carefully orchestrated. So you can be sure that Jeb Bush included this in his new ebook, Reply All, because he thinks it's a virtue worth touting:

Mr. Cortada, an artist, was alarmed that Mr. Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush, was proposing to amend the Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage – and was unsettled that the governor backed the idea.

“When one of us is denied equality, then a...

Maine: NOM finally forced to hand over its tiny, out-of-state, incestuous donor roll

The list itself holds few surprises, showing the same names we've long known (Templeton, Fieler, Caster, Knights of Columbus) having financed NOM's operations in Maine. But having covered this saga for all the years that NOM tried to obstruct justice, I do feel compelled to post this final chapter:

Breaking: NOM Hands Over Donor List From Maine Campaign Against Same-Sex Marriage – Details [NCRM]

The whole thing is already starting to feel nostalgic.

This delusional primary: Huckabee claims 'same-sex marriage is not the law of the land'

The US Supreme Court did not "write a law," obviously. Instead, the majority found that same-sex couples have the right, under our constitution, to enter into civil marriages. In fact, the laws that were passed to try to muddy and ultimately stop that right (both federally, with DOMA, and with all the state marriage bans) are what court after court found unconstitutional; SCOTUS agreed.

But now listen to Mike Huckabee, a presidential candidate who wants nothing more than to entwine church a...

The 'Yeah. Duh. Of course' phase of this fight

A U.S. District judge ruled today that Kim Davis, the clerk from Rowan County, Kentucky, who went viral when she was filmed denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples, must issue such licenses or ultimately face some pretty steep consequences:

Judge Orders Kentucky Clerk to Issue Gay Marriage Licenses [AP via ABC News]

Davis' lawyers vow to appeal. Because of course they are. It's likely a fruitless exercise based on the lower court's findings.

At one time this would have been the kind...

Trailer: 'Stonewall'

I'm admittedly sidestepping the controversy for now (and there is some; Google it) and the fact that it, like all historical dramas with a fictional character as an entry point into the story, will be a bit revisionist. I just think it looks like a Hollywood take on an event that benefits from wider exposure, and I'm looking forward to seeing it:

I caught the mid'90s Stonewall movie on cable late one night after my parents had gone to bed, and it clicked even more things with in my const...

And now NOM is literally pleading with its (theoretical) supporters

"Please don't" begs an organization whose supporters have every reason to flee their failed experiment in discrimination:

[NOM]

Even that one bird is like, "I'm outta here." The rest will follow soon enough.

Add 'professional advocate for anti-gay scouting' to list of bygone career choices

It's not perfect, what with its allowing church-led groups to sidestep the change. But still:

Boy Scouts End Nationwide Ban on Gay Leaders [NYT]

One small step for outdoorsy gay dads; one giant leap for an entire minority population sick of the insinuation that pedophilia is likely to be lurking under just under the surface of their sexual orientations.